Medicaid IOU bill not destined to be school finance battleground

The must-pass budget legislation to pay Texas’ lingering, giant Medicaid IOU and some money owed to public schools shouldn’t become a vehicle for a bigger education funding battle, the House decided Thursday.

The Texas House voted 107-36 to limit the sort of amendments that will be allowed in next week’s debate on by Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie.

The rule adopted by the House will prevent lawmakers from offering an amendment to increase funding in any areas – including schools – unless an equal amount of money is deducted.

Democrats have been pushing to restore at least some of the billions of dollars cut back from public schools two years ago, when Comptroller Susan Combs predicted the state was headed for a massive revenue shortfall.

The state now has billions more at its disposal than expected, but it also has to pay bills that were left hanging in the lean times of 2011 – most notably $4.5 billion needed to continue the Medicaid program through the Aug. 31 end of the fiscal year and provide some more money for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

HB10 also provides some funding needed to get public schools through the end of the fiscal year, but it doesn’t address the reductions from previous formulas.

Pitts said it’s crucial for the House and Senate to approve the Medicaid funding in the next two weeks and send it to Gov. Rick Perry’s desk for his signature.

Otherwise, he said, lawmakers’ constituents won’t get health care and doctors, hospitals and other health-care providers won’t get paid.

Pitts noted there is another, more routine supplemental budget bill pending this legislative session to pay for items including wildfire costs. He said that “we are looking into what we can do for public education in that supplemental bill.”